US scientists research enzyme to convert methane to transportation fuel

2:17 PM MST | January 16, 2014 | Francinia Protti-Alvarez

Researchers from the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley, CA), University of California, hope to engineer a new enzyme that efficiently converts methane to liquid transportation fuel, the lab announced. Methane can be converted to liquid hydrocarbons by thermochemical processes. But these processes are energy intensive and often non-selective. Methanotrophs, a type of bacteria, can process methane and convert it to chemicals that can be fashioned into fuel. These bacteria have an enzyme that serves their needs but the enzyme does not produce...